Page 1 of Wolf Bitten

CHAPTER ONE

My head was pounding, and my mouth felt as if I’d been sucking on cotton balls.Thishad to be a hellacious hangover. What had I done last night to deserve this punishment? I’d better have had a damn good time.

I stretched out my hand, searching for Raffe. The bed felt softer than normal. I needed him to hold me. His touch always made me feel better, and I loved having his body wrapped around mine.

No matter how far I stretched, I couldn’t find him.

My heart skipped a beat. Where was he? I hoped he was okay. He had to be.

Then I remembered.

I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids and limbs were so heavy. My heart pounded harder as my blood tried to jolt but couldn’t. My emotions seemed dulled, especially for me.

Right. Dave had shot a tranquilizer into my neck.

Dave.

I should’ve let Raffe kill him the night he’d struggled not to attack me while my blood had been humming. I’d asked Raffe not to do anything because Dave had fought his vampiric urges, especially after we’d learned that my blood humming made vampires crave me. Dave had told me how to get away without tempting the predator in him, and I hadn’t thought he deserved to be punished or killed.

Had I known my imminent future, my request of Raffe might have been different.

Dave had shot me in the woods, and with the soft mattress beneath me, I had no doubt he hadn’t taken me home. The thought should’ve alarmed me, but all I felt was mild concern.

Dammit, I had to focus. I couldn’t wallow in should haves. I needed to get moving if I wanted to find Raffe. He hadn’t been where he’d told me he was meeting Adam, Keith, Josie, and Lucy. Had something happened to them?

That spot in my chest that had urged me to leave the apartment to find Raffe was burning hot and frigidly cold at the same time as if fear and anger were taking root inside me, but I didn’t have any strong reactions. I was struggling to think, let alone process the situation, and I felt lethargic and numb.

Yet another strange occurrence to add to my ever-growing list of fucking problems.

This time, when I tried to open my eyes, they lifted just enough to give me a slight sense of the room.

And what I saw was nothing like I’d expected. Finally, my heart quickened a smidge. It was enough of a boost to open my eyes wider.

The room was nice and not some sort of prison cell. Overhead, a large circular light was turned off. Because of that, I could see my reflection staring back at me from its glass. My tangled hair was spread across navy-blue pillows, and there were dark circles under my eyes. My complexion was paler than usual, further proof that I’d been drugged. I was still wearing the lilac sweater and jeans I’d put on after …

At the bittersweet memory, my heart panged, nearly stealing my breath.

After months of turbulent interactions, Raffe and I had gotten together and had sex, cementing our fated-mate bond as much as we could with my being human. Of course, it was my luck that, within an hour, I’d be kidnapped and taken away from the one person who made me feel safe and loved and could help me calm my blood when it went crazy.

Apparently, surviving years of bullying and abuse from my peers hadn’t been enough for me to earn some happiness. The love of my life had to be stripped away from me.

Between the emotions crowding my chest and my pity party, I was way too damn close to spiraling out of control and wasting the little bit of energy I had on something frivolous.

I had to get out of here, and I could only do that by focusing and using my remaining energy to move and burn off the drug faster.

Forcing myself to concentrate, I noticed one glorious thing.

Dave hadn’t bound my arms and legs.

I had to use this to my advantage while I could. My chest expanded with hope, which I tried to squash. Hope wasn’t a good thing—it could destroy you.

The cement ceiling looked similar to the one in the hidden coven library. Where the hell was I? Was this another secret location within the Evergreen Elite University campus? Was I even still in Portland, Oregon? My stomach churned as the realization settled over me.

I had no idea where I was, why Dave had taken me, or what he or whoever had made him drug me wanted from me. In other words, I had to get the fuck out of here while my kidnappers assumed I was passed out.

Straining, I moved my hand slowly toward the spot on my neck where the tranq had lodged. My skin seemed smooth, as if nothing had hit me.

Strange.

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